Dante Moore has only started a handful of games for Oregon, but Todd McShay already thinks he could be the No. 1 overall pick in next year's NFL Draft.
Moore, who transferred from UCLA following the 2023 season, spent his sophomore year sitting and learning behind Heisman finalist Dillon Gabriel. And so far this season, with Gabriel in the NFL, Moore has certainly made the most of his opportunity.
Through four games, Moore has completed nearly 75% of his passes, thrown for 962 yards, 11 touchdowns, and only one interception. More importantly, the Ducks are 4-0, having walloped a number of their opponents, including rival Oregon State 41-7 last week.
So it's easy to see why McShay, a longtime draft analyst, would be quite a big fan of Moore.
“When you see it and you know it, like, it’s just there,” McShay said of Moore on ‘The Bill Simmons Podcast'. “His ability to drive the ball down the field — he’s just a smooth criminal throwing the ball. He’s got some parts of Jordan Love. He’s got some aspects of CJ Stroud at his best. He’s got some Baker Mayfield to him. Catchable ball, driving it down the field, using his eyes to see the whole thing and manipulate defenders. He’s just the best pure passer in the country.”
According to FanDuel, Moore now has the fourth-highest odds to win the Heisman later this year, only behind Indiana's Fernando Mendoza, Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith, and Miami's Carson Beck.
But an even bigger prize may be awaiting Moore: the prestige and pay of being the first player taken in the NFL Draft, according to McShay.
“So could you see a world where he’s the number-one pick next April?” Simmons asked.
“I absolutely could,” McShay responded. “But I hope he’s not. I hope he’s not in the 2026 draft. For him, not for Oregon. … Another year with Will Stein, I think, would be the best thing for Dante Moore, but if you’re asking me right now, based off of a tiny sample size at four starts at Oregon, I think he’s tracking to be the number-one overall pick if things continue to play out.”
Tomorrow night, Moore and Oregon will face potentially their toughest test of the entire season. The sixth-ranked Ducks will play at No. 3 Penn State, which is expecting another raucous ‘White Out' crowd, in a game that could ultimately decide which team advances to the Big Ten Championship Game in a few months.
